


GoTC: If a Friend Collects

by farad



Series: GoTC (Originally titled "Fluctuations") [2]
Category: Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: "Ghosts of the Confederacy" series, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-07
Updated: 2010-08-07
Packaged: 2017-10-10 23:47:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/105786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/farad/pseuds/farad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>working out the dynamics of three</p>
            </blockquote>





	GoTC: If a Friend Collects

**Author's Note:**

> part of the series that brings Chris, Buck, and Vin together.
> 
> Thanks for my betas, Charlotte, Dail, and all the wonderful people at DnF who let me play.

  
_VIN:  
There's a little backwater town up in the Texas panhandle. Tascosa. Flatter'n a felt-covered poker table. You know it?  
CHRIS:  
Heard of it.  
VIN:  
If I wind up getting killed take my body back there. You'll get 500 for it.  
CHRIS:  
How come you're so valuable?  
VIN:  
Well, when the buffalo done run out I became a bounty hunter. I was going after Eli Joe-- a bandit who'd shot up a few banks.  
$200 reward, alive or dead and I found him dead, took the body in. 'Cept it wasn't him. Old Eli framed me up for murder. Since I didn't do it, I decided not to stick around for the hanging. Wound up with a hefty bounty on my own head. So I figure if a friend collects, I get the last laugh."_

from "Ghosts of the Confederacy"  
(transcript taken from Zennerd's excellent website: http://www.geocities.com/zennerd/pilot1.html)

 

He hadn't meant to watch them – hadn't thought there'd be anything to watch. And in truth, had he let them know he was there when he came up, there probably wouldn't have been.

They were sitting at the top of the hill, on a flat rock, looking out over the valley. Vin was the one on watch, keeping an eye out for the 'ghosts' to appear. The sun was setting, an early-evening breeze ruffling their hair and raising little eddies of sand around them.

He was surprised that neither of them noticed him; Chris was usually overly-aware of everything going on around him, and Vin – well, something about him had led Buck to believe that he was even more nervous than Chris.

Maybe it was the way the wind was blowing, past them and back toward him, or maybe it was the angle of the sun, setting before them, long rays stretching back into their faces. Or maybe it was the fact that their eyes were only for each other.

He wasn't jealous. Much. Not enough to matter.

He was worried. He'd known Chris for a long time – before Sarah, during, and after. He'd been there in the good and in the bad, been there to pull Chris out of the wreckage of his life and tried to keep him alive.

Been there to help him feel again, or so he liked to think.

But looking at his old friend – best friend – now, he wondered if that was such a good thing.

Vin was good for Chris, no doubt about that. He was good for both of them, really, his soft smile and easy manner. Quiet too, except, Buck grinned despite himself, in bed. He was a real spit-fire there.

Have to be, to put up with Chris, who'd been – well, Chris.

Pushy and demanding and not in the mood to be patient. Hell, that was why Chris had come looking for Buck to start with.

And now, here they were, in a Seminole village, waiting for an attack by a group of ex-Confederate soldiers who didn't want to accept that the war was over.

And here he was, watching Chris and Vin watching each other. Watching Chris look at someone the way he'd only looked at Buck for the past several years.

They didn't know Vin – not in any way that counted, not yet. He was great in bed, though a little bit shy, and Buck could tell he had reason to be; he'd not had good experiences in the past, apparently, and whatever experience he did have had been bad enough that he had forgiven Chris almost immediately for the pain he had caused in his 'bull in heat' way, apparently having suffered worse on other occasions.

Forgiven him, Buck mused, watching now. The boy was fascinated with Chris. And after all the care and tenderness Buck had shown him –

He blinked. Maybe he was jealous. But surprisingly – not of Chris. Well, not –

He shook his head. This was stupid and pointless. It would be what it would be.

But as they leaned closer to each other, Vin's long hair drifting on the breeze, Buck wondered.

As Chris' arm slid around Vin's shoulders, he remembered what it had felt like to pull the slender body close, to feel the hard bones of his shoulders and smell the leather and desert and musk. As Chris' nose rubbed along one of Vin's high cheekbones, he remembered the heat of the tanned skin, strangely soft despite the exposure to wind and weather. As Chris' lips touched Vin's, he remembered how supple they were, how easily they opened and surrendered to him.

As they did now for Chris, welcoming him in with enthusiasm and passion – 'great hospitality', he thought with a grin. Certainly no hostility.

As Chris' tongue took control, thrusting deep and wetly, Vin met it, sucking on it with a familiarity that made Buck's cock twitch with memory.

By they time they parted to breathe, his pants were tight and it hurt to stand.

They were staring at each other again, the sharp rays of the sun showing the rosy blush of Vin's skin and the uncharacteristic lines of relaxation on Chris'. Chris hand rose to wipe at Vin's lips, and Vin leaned into the touch, like a cat rubbing against its keeper.

When he sucked Chris' thumb into his mouth, Buck barely contained the groan that started in his belly, working its way up. He shifted, readjusted himself, debated what he was doing just standing there watching, especially when Chris leaned in again, adding his tongue once more to that mouth.

Both of them, working on Chris' thumb. Two tongues, two mouths, two sets of lips –

The memory of those two tongues – individually, not at the same time yet . . . . Vin was impatient, still a little awkward, but he made up for it with dedication and tenacity; his tongue had lapped delicately at the head of Buck's cock while his mouth and throat – God, that throat! – had stretched to take him all, creating a suction and heat that was unlike anything Buck had ever felt before. Which, for a man of Buck's experience, was saying a lot.

And Chris – his tongue was a force of its own, broad and flexible, able to wrap around Buck's cock like a coiled snake. He hadn't mastered taking all of Buck's length – Buck was still surprised every time Chris deigned to go down on him at all. It had taken them a couple of years for Chris to experiment with giving instead of taking, and even now, he had to be in just the right frame of mind.

But when he was, it was also some of the best Buck had ever had. Chris did everything with an intensity that was often intimidating, and sometimes even painful.

Right now, watching him gnaw at his own thumb while his tongue was buried in Vin's mouth, watching Vin's cheeks hollow and swell with the movements inside him –

He hadn't intended to do anything other than adjust himself once more, shift his throbbing erection, but the pressure of his own hand over it was too much.

He came hard, distractedly trying to hold the sound of it inside him, but not able to control that as his body took over entirely.

When the world started filtering back, the haze of ecstasy fading in the discomfort of the hard rock he was leaning on and the sticky wetness pulling at the overly-sensitive skin of his diminishing erection, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

He wasn't surprised to find Chris and Vin looking at him. He was surprised that they weren't pointing guns, and even more surprised at the grins they were wearing.

"Told ya," Chris said as his thumb wiped over Vin's lower lip. "He can't resist a show."

Vin chuckled, a sound that Buck knew was rare. "Weren't mucha one," he answered, even as he licked at Chris' thumb. "If sucking on yer hand's all it takes – well, hell, how's he gonna be able to keep his attention on a fight? First time one of us gets a powder burn, he's gonna be – "

"Hold on there, boys," Buck rasped out, managing finally to push himself up off the rock. "Y'all ain't saying that you knew I was there the whole time, are you?"

Vin glanced to Chris, who was shaking his head but smiling, then back to Buck. "Be damned poor look-outs if we didn't," he answered. "You don't never let no one shoot ya in the back."

Buck stood there, staring at the guileless expression on Vin's face. "You couldn't – you didn't – "

"Done and done, Buck," Chris laughed out loud. "Vin knew you were coming before you made it to the top of the hill. When you didn't come on over, we figured you might be watching for something more."

There was an undertone in his voice – Buck knew it for what it was, a touch of censure, a touch of amusement, and a touch of challenge.

Vin, though, new to Chris' personality, blinked and drew away a little, his eyes narrowing into that sort of wariness that Buck had come to recognize.

Buck laughed; it was almost a habit, really, to jump in and deflect attention from Chris' blunt comments and bad moods. And he felt a strange protectiveness towards Vin – he was a good guy who seemed to be caught in a web with Chris, and maybe, just maybe, with Buck as well.

As if knowing his thoughts, Vin looked at Buck, the wariness ebbing, giving way to a sort of affection.

"You two sure are pretty together," Buck said, moving closer. "Can't say it didn't cross my mind."

He dropped down to kneel close, letting one arm fall on each set of shoulders.

Vin didn't tense under his touch; in fact, he seemed to want it, drawing closer to Buck and settling a little against his chest.

Chris, however, answered petulantly, "Bet a lot of things crossed your mind, things that weren't any of your concern."

Buck turned to his friend, smiling. "Reckon so, big dog. But you know me – ain't nothing for you to worry about."

He'd meant it as a reassurance, but somewhere in it, even he heard the faint edge of hurt.

Oddly, though, Chris' expression softened and like Vin, he leaned into Buck's body. "No, it's nothing for you to worry about, Buck," he said softly.

Buck looked down and caught his gaze, confused.

Chris angled his head up, his lips connecting solidly with Buck's.

It wasn't like what Vin and Chris had been doing, not passionate, even though there was a level of passion in it, and not teasing. It was warm and sweet and sincere – a combination that was rare in Chris.

Buck relished the kiss and the emotion in it – the message. He was unwilling to let it go, but as Chris drew back with a gentle swipe of his tongue over Buck's lips, the tips of his fingers pushed at Buck's chin, directing him to turn.

Vin's lips were softer, sweeter in some ways, his kiss a little less inexperienced than it had been – just yesterday, Buck thought with a slight laugh. Boy was a quick study – and they'd given him lots of practice.

More now.

He pressed a little harder, letting his own tongue push against that pleasant mouth, and he wasn't the least bit surprised when Vin opened to him. Then suckled him, taking what he gave and doubling the pleasure of it.

Buck felt a vibration, realized that he moaned, but he was too taken in the moment to think.

Chris, however, was not. "Not now," he said flatly, but there was no anger. "We've got too much to do to get distracted. Besides, Buck, you just got yours."

Buck backed off only because Vin was pulling away, his hands on Buck's chest. "You know I believe in keeping things equal," he said as he tried to catch his breath, tried to swoop in for Vin's mouth again.

Vin laughed, but held his distance, applying more pressure to counter Buck's attempts. "Chris is right, Buck – we'll have time when this is done."

"Don't take no time at all – "

"Buck." Chris voice was stern now, and he caught Buck's arm as he tried to move it to reach for Vin. "Now's not the place or time. After, when we have time. Lots of it."

"But – " He turned to Chris, thinking that maybe he could distract him with a good, hard kiss.

But Chris held his arm in one hand and, like Vin, placed his other hand on Buck's chest. On Vin's hand, right in the center of Buck's chest. "Now who's the bull in heat?" he asked softly.

Buck stopped pressing, looking into Chris' face. There was something in it, a hint of amusement, but also a hint of defiance.

"Later," Chris said. "All three of us."

This time, he heard the promise in the statement.

"Be better," Vin said quietly. "When we can do it right."

Buck shook his head, but grinned, relaxing. "Reckon you're right. All this sand would itch, anyway, and scratching that itch might hurt."

The other two grinned as he chuckled, the breeze blowing the night across the desert.


End file.
